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Motivation Monday: Getting Your Pantry Ready For Fall

September 11, 2017

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The first day of fall is September 22nd and it’s approaching fast! So that’s why today’s post is all about getting your pantry ready for all the fall foods your love to stock up on. We have a few tips on what food products you should keep in your pantry and what healthy food products you should stock up on the next time you go grocery shopping, too. To determine what your pantry should be made up of, we also used our FoodFacts app as a helpful guide that let us know which foods are healthy for you and which ones are not because they contain harmful, controversial ingredients.

Keep Foods In Your Pantry That Score An C+ And Higher In Our FoodFacts App

As you go through your pantry and decide which products need to be thrown away and which ones are still good, use our FoodFacts app to help you access each food product. Simply scan the UPC code located on a product and our app will pull up all of the information on the product, including it’s food score, list of ingredients and nutrition per serving. The food score will let you know right away if the product is good or bad for you because the lower the score, the more controversial ingredients and poor nutrition it contains. So for example, if you have an open box of Lucky Charms Cereal in your pantry that would be a good item to throw away since it scored an F in our app. The reason why it scored an F is because it contains several controversial ingredients, including sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, natural and artificial flavoring, and artificial colors: yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40 and blue 1.

Some food items that would be good to sort through include old opened boxes of cereal, granola bars, chips, pretzels and crackers. If any of those products scored low (C- to an F), discarding them would be doing your body a favor and also help you make a clean, fresh start for fall. Other items you may have lurking in your pantry that could be thrown away may include processed, packaged meals and sides like pasta salads and rice dishes. For example, Betty Crocker Suddenly Pasta Salad, Ranch and Bacon which might have seemed like a good choice for you to stock up on during the summer (and because it was on sale, 10 for $10), but that kind of packaged boxed side received a food score of an F. It contains sugar, natural and artificial flavoring, red 40, caramel color, maltodextrin (food additive), tocopherol (preservative) and monosodium glutamate (flavor enhancer). You’re better off staying away from these processed meals and sides and freeing up space in your pantry for fall food products that are much healthier meal, snack and side options.

Stock Up On Seasonal Food Products That Receive A High Food Score In Our App

Now that you’ve got rid of the bad food products in your pantry, it’s time to restock your shelves with some food products that are healthy, must-have fall staples. One food product that is sure to warm you up during the cold weather and keep your tummy full is steel-cut oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. Both kinds of oats are heart-healthy, full of fiber and good carbohydrates to help you power through your morning. A large container of oats is also relatively inexpensive and will stay fresh in your pantry well into the winter months.

Another pantry staple for the fall is chicken stock, beef stock and vegetable stock. Instead of buying canned, ready-to-serve soups or instant ramen noodles, these stocks are much better to have on-hand to make a big batch of homemade soup or add to a crock pot recipe. Just be sure to select the low-sodium versions in order to keep your sodium levels from being too high. Additionally, you should stock up on assorted lentils, beans and rice as well as other legumes and whole grains because they are great to help bulk up your soups and to serve as the base for your fall-inspired grain bowls.

Other must-have food items for your pantry are canned pumpkin, potatoes, sweet potatoes and various kinds of nuts and seeds. Canned pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C and you can add it into countless recipes to give your dish that fall flavor. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are also in-season and are great to have on-hand to roast up for dinner. Raw nuts and seeds are also great staples to have in your pantry because they offer a good balance of healthy fats, protein, fiber and vitamins. You can top your oatmeal with a serving of omega-3 enriched walnuts or grab a handful of almonds or pumpkin seeds as a quick post-workout snack.

Welcome Fall & Enjoy A Pantry Full Of A Healthy Harvest

At FoodFacts, we love the fall and we also love all of the wonderful, healthy seasonal foods that come along with it. We hope you enjoy revamping your pantry by using our FoodFacts app and getting it stocked with wholesome foods that are good for you and your family!